Middletown '08 budget at $62M Public hearing on budget slated for May 5 BY JAMIE ROMM Staff Writer MIDDLETOWN - The budget process for 2008 has included several rounds of costcutting resulting in trimming $4.2 million so far, according to the township's chief financial officer. "We've already cut more than $4.2 million in proposed expenditures through five rounds of departmental budget reviews since November, and are actively searching for more cost savings," Middletown CFO Richard E. Wright Jr. told the Township Committee at the April 7 meeting. The proposed budget totals $62,263,389 and represents an increase of $2,473,999, or 4.1 percent, over the 2007 amended budget of $59,789,388. The increase is below the Consumer Price Index and the state's spending cap. The committee voted unanimously in favor of introducing the budget. Committeeman Patrick Short, one of twoDemocrats on the committee, said he voted in favor so residents could access the proposed budget. After the vote, Short and fellow Democrat, Committeeman Sean Byrnes, introduced a 39-point plan to trim the budget further. As introduced, the budget would increase the municipal tax rate of 5.1 cents per $100 of assessed valuation to 7.2 cents per $100. The owner of a home assessed at $200,000 would pay an additional $1.95 per week, or about $101 per year, if the budget were approved. Every penny on the tax rate equates to $498,727 in revenue for the township. The proposed budget maintains essential services such as lawenforcement, building inspections, snow removal and leaf and brush collection. Costs that factor into the budget include: a $634,511 reduction in state aid; a $1.1million increase in state-mandated pension contributions; a $316,394 state-mandated increase in the library's operating budget; increased utility expenses of $600,000; and $770,000 in severance packages for police officers who retired in 2007. The expenditures, total $3,420,905,Wright said. "Additionally, the local impact of the governor's proposed cut in municipal aid contributed 1.25 cents of this year's increase," Wright said. "Should the Legislature restore the state aid to last year's level prior to budget adoption, the municipal tax rate would be reduced to 3.8 cents for the 2008 budget." Some of the tactics used to reduce municipal costs, he said, include a 13 percent reduction in the municipal work force since 1989; streamlining work practices through greater use of technology; interlocal agreements; defraying project costs with grant monies; and refinancing existing bonds to take advantage of lower interest rates. Historically, the municipal tax rate is about 20 percent of the tax bill homeowners receive. Another 19 percent is the county's portion of the bill. The remaining 61 percent goes to school taxes. Apublic hearing on the budget is scheduled for May 5 at 8 p.m. at town hall.